Pakistani officials said rescuers were transporting the wounded to hospitals and the dead to local morgues, but were struggling in the difficult mountainous terrain, some 217 miles south of the provincial capital, Quetta.

The blast targeted worshippers as they were in the throes of a trance-like dance, and the courtyard at the time was packed with families, women and children.

Baluchistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said more than 500 people were present in the courtyard of the shrine when the blast happened.

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